First Car at 19
I bought my first car at 19, figured this was the group to share to.
edit:
to answer some questions that i don’t feel like replying to a bunch of times mostly as to how and why lol (tldr at end)
I started working at 14, minimum wage after school 6 days a week and during the summer. saved nearly everything i made through high school which i later put into a stock portfolio once i turned 18. after high school i put my resume in with multiple contractors working for the local mine and got on raise bore due to a worker shortage as usually they don’t take on guys with no experience. between december 2024 and November 2025 i worked as much as i could, taking every overtime shift possible/legal. come december 2025 and we have a full crew, less overtime for me but “due to my good work ethic” that didn’t go unnoticed i got a substantial raise and promotion going from helping to drilling. starting January 2026 working mostly regular sets (2weeks on 2 weeks off) plus some overtime here and there i’ve matched (now exceeded as of may 21st) my earnings from 2025.
i bought my house November of 2025 (it’s a pos yes) as i was told it’s a tax benefit for being a first time home buyer. didn’t make much of a difference in my eyes tax wise but whatever (i prolly messed up somewhere) the house is definitely a fixer upper but has a heated garage perfect for the winters here.
i have money put away from high school which is now gaining 16-22% per year in a stock portfolio. a friend of mine i’ve known since high school went to school for economics and is stock broke-ing ( not sure of the terminology) so i “hire” him to invest for me as he is much smarter than me when it comes to that.
i know i could’ve bought a better car for the price, or a faster car for the price, or this or that. but i didn’t. i wanted this car and it was feasible for me. i’ve driven cars with similar power numbers before and id like to get comfortable with this before going with more. plus it’s my dream car. i paid 87000 cash and i took a line of credit for the other 5000. i will be using the line of credit to pay for renovations in my house when the time comes so i figured it’d be good to get used to paying it now and build up my credit history while i’m at it.
i will be posting more pictures and videos once the weather stops acting up in my area and now that i’m on days off for the next couple weeks.
Thanks for all the advice and support from this community i enjoyed reading and learning from lots of people who have more life experience than me! this is kinda scrambled as i just got off night shift this morning and i’ve been reading all the new replies when i decided to write this. i hope its a little more understandable
TLDR: 95% paid in cash worked a lot to afford it. dream car. yes i can afford it, no it’s not parents money, i have a house, i have savings. and no im not crashing into a tree (although it would be fitting for a mustang) and plan on learning the car before showboating.